The Fourth Purpose: To Serve the Lord
Matthew 20:20-28
Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell
First
Presbyterian Church,
March 6, 2005
I couldn’t avoid it any longer ... it had to be dealt with. Years of being a lifeguard without any skin protection in those days led to a visit with a dermatologist this week. Left alone, patches on my skin would only get worse, perhaps even becoming cancerous in time. So this week, I went to my dermatologist to literally “face up” to what I had to face!
Some cancers are surely physical and can often show on the surface. But there are other forms that are not of the physical kind, and yet are just as dangerous, and that includes the “cancer” of unfettered ambition.
Jesus saw this developing in His disciples and like a wise Master Surgeon, He knew it was time for some spiritual surgery, for such unimpeded ambition can be harmful to one’s self and to others. It was time to teach the disciples that service to others was the better way.
The situation began with Salome, the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John. She came to Jesus with a request and acted appropriately in giving Jesus respect by kneeling before Him. What was inappropriate was the nature of her request. But before we get to that, we need to see who was really involved.
In Mark’s Gospel, we are told that the sons made the request. So what we have here is James and John asking their mother to make the request of Jesus for them. This she did, because she was also ambitious, seeking that her sons be highly honored by the Lord Jesus.
The actual request was that these two be granted places of authority, power and influence. These disciples were looking for an earthly kingdom, soon to be set up with great pomp and circumstance by Jesus. They anticipated the reign of Jesus over all the earth and they wanted a part of it. To sit at the right and left hand of a great and mighty ruler was quite an honor. But to have such seats beside the long awaited Messiah and Christ, before whom all the world should bow, ah, that was the greatest honor!
But lest we think that only Salome, James and John were guilty of such selfish ambition, we find that when the other ten got wind of what they were doing, the others were indignant … they were upset and angry. Was this because James and John were trying to be exalted over their fellow disciples, or was it because of the thought that James and John got to Jesus first with such a request! We aren’t told, but the lesson of servanthood was about to unfold for them all.
THE LESSON OF SERVANTHOOD.
James and John thought that this request, should it be answered affirmatively, only include great honor and happiness, a life of ease and comfort, and be devoid of any suffering or trial. But oh, how wrong they were! The cup of a bitter mixture and the baptism of suffering would soon be theirs, following not long after the experience of Jesus Himself. Yet, even still, such places of authority were prepared in advance by the Father, not the Son.
Matthew tells us that Jesus then gathered in closely all of His disciples. He then spoke to them of the principle of servanthood in the rather striking way of contrasts. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.” Yes, the disciples could see kings of the earth raising up their favorites to places of prestige and power. They could see it in Caesar and the Romans, and in every other earthly kingdom where Gentiles had dominance.
The disciples were probably eager at this point to hear Jesus say that thus it would be in His Kingdom. But that’s when Jesus surprised them, as He so often did. “Not so with you,” He said. “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
One can only imagine the look of puzzlement on the faces of the disciples in hearing this. But when Jesus paid the ransom payment to set us free from our captivity to sin, guilt and death, they would know … they would understand … they would comprehend.
And so must we, for if ever we are to live in service to others, it will only be because we have the life of Jesus both before us, and within us. There is no other way than this for true and sincere servanthood to occur.Jesus is our greatest model as One who lived sacrificially for others; indeed as God-incarnate, Jesus is the supreme example. But even this is not enough. We also need His presence and power, by the Holy Spirit, to shape and transform us into His very image.
I believe our 25th President, William McKinley, understood this fully. [i] Elected to the highest office in the land, McKinley yet had a reputation of a warm, generous and inviting personality. One historian has noted that “he was beloved … Even his political opponents were attracted by the peculiar sweetness of his personality.”
As President, McKinley once had a crucial decision to make in appointing an ambassador to a foreign country. McKinley had to choose between two men, and a final decision was made based upon character. McKinley remembered an occasion a few years before when, as a Congressman, he observed an unkind, selfish act by one of the men. It was rush hour and both of them were seated on a streetcar, with McKinley in the back and the other man in the middle.
In time, an elderly woman got on, carrying a heavy clothesbasket. All the seats were taken. No one offered her a seat, and the man in question, who was sitting right beside where she was standing, simply pulled his newspaper up, pretending not to see her. That’s when McKinley, who saw all of this happening, arose, took her basket, escorted the woman to his seat, and then offered her his seat.
McKinley’s character, unlike that of the other, was one of servanthood, not selfishness. As a consequence, the man did not get the position. He did not get the position, because being an ambassador requires a sense of servanthood. And may I add that it is even more so for an ambassador of Christ.
*
One may well ask for the source of McKinley’s character and conduct. To find the answer, we need to note that William McKinley was brought up in a devout Methodist home, and he professed his faith at the young age of ten. He was a lifelong Methodist, and served in many and various capacities.
In
Upon his inauguration, McKinley kissed the Bible where it was opened to 2 Chronicles 1:10: “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this Thy people, that is so great?” He was quite aware of the tremendous challenge before him but he also knew where to ultimately turn.
As President, he would invite guests to join him in the Blue Room on Sunday evenings. They would sing hymns, including his favorites, “Nearer My God to Thee,” and “Lead, Kindly Light.”
As you may recall, President McKinley was shot by an assassin in 1901. We are told that, as he was being prepared for surgery, he was overheard to be praying softly the Lord’s Prayer. His last words before he died a few days later were these: “It is God’s way. His will, not ours, be done.”
When all is said and done, there can be little doubt as to the source of William McKinley’s character and conduct.
DO NOT COME AUTOMATICALLY.
So much of the ways of the world and the lies of our Adversary and the desires of our own flesh run counter to a life of servanthood. That is why we need both a Savior and a Sanctifier as well.
And so, with renewed conviction, let us seek a life that is nearer to Christ, one that is illuminated by His kindly light,
for the reason that it is only in this way that when others see us, they will be seeing Him.
[i] Much of the information described here is taken from William A. DeGregorio’s The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (New York: Dembner Books, 1984), pp.355-69.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version.